New champion aluminum radiator fitment issues.

[jimmycuda71]

I just purchased a new Champion 26", 4 row radiator for my 1973 Barracuda. My car was originally a small block car. My radiator needed replaced and I plan on upgrading to a big block in the near future. So I was going to go ahead and install a 26" radiator and be ahead of the game. When I went to install it the bolt holes were not even close. My radiator support holes measures 25" apart and the new radiator holes measures 28".
Did the Cudas come with a different radiator supports for the big block and small block? Or did they ship me the wrong radiator? It was supposed to be a direct bolt in.
Jimmycuda71

[cudabob496]

Personnaly, I'd return it and get a two row aluminum.
4 rows can actually restirct airflow.
You can get a standard two row alum for around $200, make a few alum brackets, and fit
it in there just fine. Just do some measuring before you buy.
The $200 alum rads come in all diff sizes.
Thats what I've done for my 496 72 Cuda.
Also, you can loose the mechanical fan (if haven't already done so), and just put an electric on your alum radiator.
And I only need to turn on the fan at stop lights.
Plus, you save weight by yanking mech fan.
Loosing the mechanical fan can save up to 20 hp.

[barracuda7199]

i have a champion 3 row rad with there shroud and dual electric fans my car runs cool with it. my car was an originally a 22" core support so i just broke the drill out. but i'm not concerned with originality on my though but there good radiators for the money. challenger gary on here sells the radiators

[jimmycuda71]

i have a champion 3 row rad with there shroud and dual electric fans my car runs cool with it. my car was an originally a 22" core support so i just broke the drill out. but i'm not concerned with originality on my though but there good radiators for the money. challenger gary on here sells the radiators

I purchased the radiator from ChallengerGary. I also purchased it with the dual electric fans. The radiator and fans looks great. I just was not aware that there were two core supports. I guess that I will also be breaking out the drill too.

[71chmark]

I have the three core.  I think the small block cars had the 26 inch opening if they were air condition optioned. Otherwise 22 inch.  I have a 318  car now with a 440.  It has the 26 inch opening and everything fits great including the stock shroud.  Just using a clutch fan.  Stayed cool even when it was 95 degrees out.

[Jamiez]

Small blocks could get the 26" radiator without AC.  Mine was optioned that way.  The larger rad shows as fender tag code 26

[KillerBee]

You have a few options.

First you can break out the drill and make extra holes for the bigger radiator, I've done this in the past with good results.

You can buy or make adapters to mount the bigger radiator in the car.
Be-Cool sells some specifically for 22" Mopar openings but they are rather $$$$.
They look very easy to make.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bci-72030/overview/

Keep in mind of you mount the bigger radiator in a 22" opening part of the bigger radiator will be covered by the smaller opening unless you cut the opening bigger.

You could try to return the radiator and go with the a 22" aluminum unit.
These newer quality aluminum radiators are much more efficient at cooling and even the small ones do a great job.

This is what I did with my original 71 R/T Challenger with factory 22" radiator opening(It's an original 383 4 speed non AC car with 3.23 rear gear so it came factory with 22" radiator)
I didn't want to drill any extra holes in my car's original radiator support so I bought a 22" Champion that bolted right in after a quick modification to the radiator.

I'm running a strong 440 Six Pack engine and with the 22" radiator and it doesn't go over 190 degrees with stock fan setup and no shroud.
I'm very happy with mine.

[cudabob496]

One of the best things you can do for cooling, is to have an unsealed engine compartment, so the air will pass
through the radiator easier. Hood vents help. Also, don't seal off the back of the radiator around the fan. That way when you are going down the road, your engine cools without even having to turn on the fan. A fan shroud is helpful, but a more open one, like a stock Mopar.

Also, an unsealed engine compartment helps the front of the car not be a big air brake. Racers use to lift the back of the hood about 2 inches, to vent all the air in the engine compartment, and increase their 1/4 mile times by .2 or .3 secs.

Also, took a 6" by 5 ft piece of sheetmetal, attached it to lower front valance, painted it black, and it made a great spoiler. Not only does it reduce under car air drag, but creates more of a vacuum in the eng compartment so your radiator cools better. Also, with it, at 90+ mph, the front end stays stable, and the car doesn't want to take off like a plane, or get all squirely!

[halle09]

One of the best things you can do for cooling, is to have an unsealed engine compartment, so the air will pass
through the radiator easier. Hood vents help. Also, don't seal off the back of the radiator around the fan. That way when you are going down the road, your engine cools without even having to turn on the fan. A fan shroud is helpful, but a more open one, like a stock Mopar.

Also, an unsealed engine compartment helps the front of the car not be a big air brake. Racers use to lift the back of the hood about 2 inches, to vent all the air in the engine compartment, and increase their 1/4 mile times by .2 or .3 secs.

Also, took a 6" by 5 ft piece of sheetmetal, attached it to lower front valance, painted it black, and it made a great spoiler. Not only does it reduce under car air drag, but creates more of a vacuum in the eng compartment so your radiator cools better. Also, with it, at 90+ mph, the front end stays stable, and the car doesn't want to take off like a plane, or get all squirely!

how did you do this a thread would be cool id love to do that to my 73 cuda. what gauge sheetmetal did you use?

[cudabob496]

how did you do this a thread would be cool id love to do that to my 73 cuda. what gauge sheetmetal did you use?

I'll take a measurement of the thickness, and attach a photo also, in the next day or so.  I recall the piece of sheetmetal
was flexible so it would bolt to the valence, which has a slight curve, but sturdy enough so it would not bend, once bolted on,
due to the wind force.

Best thing to do is a "mock-up" with a piece of cardboard, get the dimensions you want, then give them to the
sheetmetal shop.  I think they charged me about $15 for the piece of sheetmetal. You can vary how close you want the
spoiler to be to the ground. You can also cut the sheetmetal to shield the front wheels, if you want. I did have it that way
for a while.

Thickness of sheetmetal is about .07 inches, which is about 14 gauge I think?. I used about 6 small 7/16 bolts to attach it to the lower valence lower lip.

[moparmaster]

My radiator did not fit like expected.  318 car, auto, with ac.  The top of the radiator sits above the core support and rubs on the bottom at the corner of the radiator.  I had to modify the radiator mounts to get it to work and am disappointed.  It was cheap but that doesn't mean it should be advertised as a direct fit.

[cudabob496]

My radiator did not fit like expected.  318 car, auto, with ac.  The top of the radiator sits above the core support and rubs on the bottom at the corner of the radiator.  I had to modify the radiator mounts to get it to work and am disappointed.  It was cheap but that doesn't mean it should be advertised as a direct fit.

Could you have returned it to get a better fitting radiator?

[moparmaster]

I can't imagine that returning it would result in them sending me one that fits better.  I'm thinking about a Rockauto radiator instead.  I don't need the custom look, just one that works at this point. 

[burdar]

Spoilers by Randy sells spoilers that look really good and help direct air into the rad.

www.spoilersbyrandy.com